


The Gold in Our Skin

by TiBun



Category: Marvel
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bucky Barnes Bingo 2020, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Civilian Clint Barton, Clint Barton Needs a Hug, Deaf Clint Barton, First Kiss, Kisses Bingo 2020, M/M, Meet-Cute, One Shot, Pre-Relationship, WinterHawk Bingo, winterhawk - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:55:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27259792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiBun/pseuds/TiBun
Summary: Bucky's lonely, Clint's down on his luck, and there's an offer for a pity coffee to take up.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 9
Kudos: 85
Collections: Bucky Barnes Bingo 2020, Kisses Bingo, Winterhawk Bingo Round Two





	The Gold in Our Skin

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable characters, I only explore the possibilities.
> 
> Bingo fills:  
> Bucky Barnes Bingo: Jealousy  
> Winterhawk Bingo: Little Shit Bucky Barnes  
> Kisses Bingo: Kiss in the Rain

Bucky wasn’t Jealous of Steve. He _wasn’t!_ He was happy for his best friend, happy that he had found his happiness after too many years of lonely isolation. Literal ICE-olation.

It was just that...well, Bucky himself had suffered the same long decades in a similar isolation. He’d been so isolated that he’d lost even himself. When he finally broke free, when he finally pieced enough of himself back together to reach out, he’d hoped that he wouldn’t be so alone anymore. Steve wasn’t his soulmate, but...well, they were two best friends ripped out of time. They had both lost everything they had known, everything they had yet to gain in their lives once the war had ended...everything but each other. Bucky had thought that they would create their own futures together, end their isolation together, be what each other could never possibly find. After all, their soulmates had to have grown old and died without them, right?

Apparently not.

Because while Bucky was hiding out as he found little pieces of memories to put himself back together, Steve had found his soulmate in Howard Stark’s son of all people. Against all odds, Steve’s soulmate was found and was young enough to grow old with Steve. To live a perfect life with him, and…

And Bucky was left alone.

Sure, he had friends around him. Or, well, he had Steve and Steve’s friends...but he still felt so alone. The fact that everyone around him had found their soulmates didn’t help his feelings of not truly fitting in. Movie nights had Steve and Tony curled up in a loveseat, Bruce and Thor cuddling on the couch, Natasha and Sam sprawled out on a bed of floor pillows—and Bucky sitting stiffly at the very edge of the couch where Bruce and Thor pulled their feet back enough to give him a place to settle in.

It was a strange feeling to be surrounded by people who cared about him, but still feel so alone and isolated.

Bucky glanced back over at Steve and Tony as they cuddled together in a seat by the window, slowly tracing their fingertips over each other’s skin just to watch the gold shimmer under the touch before slowly fading away once more. It was sweet and loving and…

And Bucky couldn’t take it anymore.

He stood up abruptly and moved to the door, grabbing his jacket and shoving his boots on.

“Bucky?” Steve asked, watching him, clearly having been distracted by Bucky’s determined movements to leave.

“Just going for a walk, Stevie.”

Tony frowned, glancing at the window speckled with water droplets. “But it’s raining…”

“I just want to get some fresh air. I’m feeling pent up.”

It wasn’t a lie, per say. He hadn’t gotten out in a few days, and while he had turned into a homebody compared to the social butterfly he had once been, too long in one place did tend to start closing in on him. He needed the reminder once in a while that he was free, that he wasn’t locked up in a cell. He wasn’t a prisoner, a tool to be let out only to get a job done. He could go out for a walk if he felt like he wanted to go out for a walk.

It was convincing enough, because Steve just gave an understanding nod, “Take an umbrella.”

Bucky nodded, grabbing one of the umbrellas kept in the closet by the door, “I have my phone. Text me if you need anything while I’m out.” he said, just to be polite, but hoping that he wouldn’t receive a text while out. He really just wanted to allow himself to wallow in his loneliness without a reminder of Steve’s happiness.

Maybe it was time to get his own apartment. Living with Steve and Tony in their penthouse was a bit too much at times. Steve had pouted at him until Bucky had agreed to move in, so he knew Steve would pout again at the idea of him moving out, but…

Well, maybe Bucky just needed some room to grow again.

Or at least be somewhere where he only saw Steve and Tony together in shorter bursts, making it easier for him to just be happy for his best friend without all the other complicated emotions building up until he feels ready to burst.

He pushes his way out onto the wet streets, opening his umbrella—and realizing with a groan he had grabbed the one that supported little yellow ducks around the edge—and setting off along the pavement. It was raining pretty hard, each step splashing the water that was running a half inch deep towards the nearest drain. It was truly a miserable day to everyone stuck outside, judging by how people were hurrying from overhang to overhang as if it’d keep them any less wet without umbrellas, and how those who had been smart enough to grab an umbrella were hunched under it, grumbling that the wind was at just a little too much of an angle for the umbrellas to keep them decently dry, save for their ankles that would be soaked no matter what just from the splashing of each step. One man was even cursing under his breath as he tried to hail a taxi, his expensive suit pants soaked nearly up to his crotch.

Bucky loved it.

Sure, it was cold and wet, and that in itself was unpleasant, but it was _his choice_ to be out in the cold wet outdoors, and the air had a freshness brought in by the rain that the city usually lacked.

Plus, it may say something about who he was that he didn’t want to examine too closely, but he liked the idea that he was enjoying his walk while everyone else seemed to be the grumpy miserable ones for once.

Okay, so he was an asshole, sue him. He didn’t like being the _only_ grumpy miserable guy around, even if he just couldn’t help it sometimes. And the weather was such an innocent thing to be grumpy about. It wasn’t like he took joy out of people’s misfortune. It was just water!

Bucky turned the corner, side-stepping quickly around a person he almost ran into as they rushed through the rain so that they wouldn’t collide and both end up sitting in puddles.

“Watch where you’re going, asshole!” the person snapped out just as Bucky turned to mutter an apology. 

Bucky clenched his jaw at the rudeness, “Sorry, I don’t usually pay much mind to the sewer rats.” he snapped back in place of what was going to be a mindless but sincere apology for nearly bumping into them. And really, the insult was too easy to spring forth when the person was wearing a fur coat in the rain. Even with an umbrella it really did make the person look like some half-drowned rodent.

“Excuse me?” The person gasped. Uhg, it was so obvious he’d had the misfortune of nearly bumping into an entitled ‘better than thou’.

“You heard me. Good day, try not to drown on your way back to the sewers.” He turned and continued on his way, ignoring the shrieks of outrage behind him.

* * *

“Oh come on, you can’t do this! I really need this place!” Clint pleaded as a box of his own stuff was shoved into his chest. 

“You haven’t kept up on rent.” his landlord snapped, “I most certainly can do this!”

“This isn’t legal! I’m supposed to get a notice that gives me like, a month to pay or find a new place to go! You can’t just show up here and start shoving me out!”

“You aren’t even a legal tenant. I don’t have to give you shit.” The landlord shoved more of Clint’s stuff into another box.

Really, Clint didn’t own much. Enough clothes to get himself through a week and a half without needing to do laundry made up most of his possessions. He’d had to sell most of his stuff a few months back just to make rent, and that had only gotten him so far. His minimum wage job barely got him by with his monthly expenses, and lately they just haven't been giving him the hours needed to cover that. He had been forced to choose between eating so he could have the energy to work, or pay rent to keep a roof over his head. Now the roof was gone.

The landlord finished shoving things into the second box and shoved it onto the first box in Clint’s arms before shoving him out of the very small room he’d been renting—really it was little more than a storage closet on the first floor. His back hit the door out to the streets, and before he knew it he was being shoved out into the rain. He stumbled, his feet losing grip of the cement steps up to the door and before he could react further, he found himself in a puddle, his two boxes of measilly belongings tumbling into the gutter behind him.

He sighed, feeling like just giving up and living there in the gutter. It wasn’t like he had anywhere to go, and he was sure he’d lose his job for looking and smelling like he was homeless—which he now was. Nothing turned away customers faster from a place that served food than a worker who didn’t have access to a proper shower, after all.

He felt like crying. Hell, he probably _was_ crying. There was too much rain that would simply hide the fall of tears. It had been many, many years since he last let himself break down and cry, but he was at his limit. Nothing was going his way. Nothing had in far too long. Life itself had something against him, he was sure of it.

Born into an abusive, neglectful family, orphaned and bounced around the foster care system until he aged out, his older brother just disappeared from his life despite the promise of them always sticking together. And now he was homeless with a real possibility of losing his dead-end job.

Was it too late to indulge in his childhood fantasy of running away to join the circus?

“Hey, are you okay?” a worried voice asked, making Clint aware of a set of legs that had stopped a few feet away from him.

“Nope.” Clint responded, laying down on the pavement, “Don’t mind me, I think I’ll just see if the rain will be so kind as to wash me down into the sewer where I may be lucky enough to be adopted by a group of flightless birds who’ll take pity on me.”

“Wouldn’t recommend it. There’s some rats down there that are pretty big assholes. Besides, I’m pretty sure that comic book superhero Batman already has a villain with a similar origin story, you wouldn’t want to be a second-rate rip-off villain, would you?”

Despite it all, Clint couldn’t help but laugh as his gaze finally followed the legs up to look at the rather handsome face of the man witnessing him at yet another lowest point of his life.

“At least I’d have a place to call home.”

The man frowned and bent over, offering him his hand to help him up. “Will you settle for a pity coffee from a stranger with a duck umbrella instead?”

Clint looked at him, debating on if he wanted to take up the offer or just let himself waste away in the rain. He was feeling so low that even coffee wasn’t tempting him to keep going, yet…

There was just something about the guy offering it to him that made him muster up the energy to reach out and take his hand.

“Okay, I’ll take a pity coffee from the hot guy with a duck umbrella.” he agreed, reaching up so he could be hoisted to his feet.

The moment their fingers touched, however, a warmth filled his entire being and the dreary grey of that rainy day suddenly lit up in a hue of gold. It was beautiful and warm and his eyes locked with the man’s gaze, his blue eyes flashing golden.

He gasped and lost his grip, falling back down into his puddle of misery, and the golden hue fading away just as fast. He quickly looked at his hand, seeing his skin shimmering gold a second before fading back to his natural skin color. He took a shaky breath as he looked back up at his soulmate who was looking at him just as stunned. He’d even dropped his umbrella.

The movies, apparently, failed at representing what this moment was like.

“Holy shit.” he muttered, unable to take his gaze off the man.

His soulmate moved again, reaching down and firmly pulling him up into his arms. As their skin touched again, the warmth returned to Clint’s body, and his skin under the touch flickered back to gold, though the man’s eyes stayed blue and the world around them stayed grey. But it was enough. The world didn’t have to go gold for them to enjoy the touch.

“Bucky.” the man said in a quiet tone, his nose bumping lightly against Clint’s purple hearing aid. “Bucky Barnes.”

“Clint Barton.” he responded, turning his head towards Bucky’s face.

An arm, hard and unyielding, wrapped around his back to hold him in place as calloused fingers gently touched his cheek. “Clint...can I kiss you?”

Clint nodded, admittedly stunned and overwhelmed by everything, but he wanted to. He wanted to kiss this stranger who was his soulmate.

Bucky leaned in, pressing their lips together in a soft, determined kiss, and they held it, ignoring how the rain soaked their clothes and ran down their faces.

When they finally pulled back, Bucky’s lips were stained gold, and Clint watched in fascination as they slowly faded back to normal. It seemed the longer a touch lingered, the longer the gold stayed in place.

Well, that would be fun to play with later. No wonder soulmates always could be seen touching each other nearly constantly. He wanted to reach out and bring the gold in Bucky’s skin to the surface. He wanted to paint him gold head to toe, and judging by how Bucky’s fingers kept trailing over his cheek, he’d guess Bucky felt the same way about him.

“Maybe we should upgrade the pity coffee to a surprise date lunch?” Bucky asked, “Start to get to know each other?”

“Sounds like the best idea I’ve heard all week.”

* * *

“Bucky’s been gone an awfully long time.” Steve muttered, looking out the window.

“I’m sure he’s fine. Probably stopped at one of his hipster coffee-bookshops he pretends he doesn't like so much.” Tony reassured him, carrying two mugs of hot chocolate from the kitchen and handing one to Steve.

Steve smiled, accepting the hot drink and casually brushing their fingers together, just to make Tony’s knuckles bloom gold for a second. “You’re probably right, but I still worry.”

“I know you do. You’re such a mother hen.” Tony teased, settling into their loveseat and tucking his legs up under a blanket. “But Bucky’s an adult.”

“I know, I know… I just can’t help it. He’s been through so much, and he’s just been so closed off.”

“He’s been lonely.” Tony shrugged, “Can’t blame the guy. All we can do is continue to include him in group activities and support him when he expresses interest in getting out to expand his circle to more than just the Avengers.”

“Maybe relax your no pets rule so he can adopt that kitten he fell in love with?” Steve hinted.

Tony sighed, “ _Maybe_ I can make an exception.” he agreed. “Still not crazy about the idea of dealing with pet hair sticking to my clothes.”

“It’ll be a small price to pay for his smile. He may even be in such a good mood that he’d let you upgrade his arm like you’ve been wanting to do.”

“Alright, he can bring his cat home.”

“Great! I’ll text him so he can be aware!” Steve said, pulling out his phone and typing out the text before sending it.

A phone chimed behind them, and they turned to see Bucky stepping off the elevator, completely soaked and carrying an equally soaked box in his metal arm, his flesh hand holding tight to the hand of a stranger who was in much the same state, right on down to the soaked box, though he was looking around with an unsure curiocity.

“Bucky? What on earth happened?” Steve gasped, setting his mug down on the coffee table and hurrying over.

“This is Clint.” Bucky grinned. Full and blinding. It surprised Steve enough to pull himself up short before he could usher Bucky off to the bathroom to towel dry. “I hope you and Tony don’t mind, but he’ll be staying here with me, at least until we get our own place.”

Clint gave a nervous nod, “Sorry, but this best day ever did start with me becoming homeless, so when Bucky offered I stay with him it felt stupid to say no?”

“It _would_ have been stupid to say no. I wouldn’t leave you sleeping in that gutter I found you in, Doll.” Bucky said, lifting their linked hands and kissing the back of Clint’s fingers, a shimmer of gold appearing in the places their skin touched. And, looking closer, gold shimmered under where their hands were clasped as well.

Clint blushed, “I uh, I’ll try to not be a bother, Mr. Captain America, sir.”

Steve shook off the shock that had stunned him, “Call me Steve.” He smiled and stepped forward to pull both soaked men into a hug, “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Clint. See, Bucky? I told you you’d find him! If I could find Tony after years in the ice, then so can you! And you did!” He let them both go before turning to grin at Tony, “Sweetheart, come meet Bucky’s soulmate, Clint!”

Tony raised a brow, sipping his hot chocolate, “How about we let them go get changed into something dry and warm so they don’t have to keep standing there forming a puddle on our floor? We can calmly get to know Clint once they are both more comfortable and not quite so overwhelmed.” he suggested.

Steve flushed in embarrassment. Tony was right. He probably was being overbearing, and Clint wasn’t yet used to how any of them were. “Sorry, he’s right, I should let you go get dry.”

“You’re just excited for me. I warned Clint over lunch that you might react this way.” Bucky shrugged.

“Not that I believed it.” Clint admitted, “At least after he told me you were _the_ Captain America!”

“And now you can know to trust me that he’s an oversized puppy—and a little punk.” Bucky smiled as he led Clint towards his room, “All your stuff is probably just as soaked as we are, I’ll let you borrow something of mine.”

“Well, they’re adorable.” Tony said, getting up to grab a rag to soak up the water that had pooled on the floor. “You should go change your shirt, I would also like a dry soulmate to cuddle up with.”

Steve chuckled, kissing Tony’s cheek gold, “Alright.” 

He turned to go down the hall to the master bedroom he shared with Tony, pausing when he got to Bucky’s door, which had been left wide open. It gave him a full view of the two newly discovered soulmates standing topless in the middle of the room, trailing fingers along each other's chest and shoulders. Steve smiled to himself, remembering exactly what it had felt like when he first discovered Tony was his match. They had done much the same, touching as much of each other as often as the opportunity presented itself. And it never really went away, but they had grown more subtle about it, as every pair did over time. But still, it was good for a new pair to have their time alone like this.

Steve reached in to close the door to allow them their privacy. Bucky and Clint would venture out to socialize in their own time.

* * *

-End-

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
